A Link between Linearmycin Biosynthesis and Extracellular Vesicle Genesis Connects Specialized Metabolism and Bacterial Membrane Physiology.

Specialized metabolites support bacterial competitive fitness as antibiotics, signals, pigments, and metal scavengers. Little is known about how specialized metabolites are processed and trafficked for their diverse competitive functions. Linearmycins A and B are linear polyketides with antifungal and antibacterial activity but are colony-localized in imaging mass spectrometry of Streptomyces sp.